Toxic Chinese Drywall Problem Issue and Removal

Louisiana Recovery Authority came closer to approving a legislative mandate for Drywall Compensation Program. It’s waiting though on answers from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last Spring the Louisiana Legislature passed a bill putting $5 million into a fund that would help compensate homeowners who rebuilt their homes with defective Chinese Drywall after Hurricane Katrina.

“There just isn’t a federal protocol for how to do it,” LRA spokeswoman Christina Stephens said.

Part of the problem is that the LRA hasn’t yet figured out who qualifies for the program and how to verify if the applicant actually used the contaminated drywall. They are looking to the CPSC for standards and forms.

The monies will be coming from the federally funded Community Development Block Grants which was created after Hurricane Katrina for rebuilding Louisiana’s infrastructure. To use the Block Grants HUD would have to give their approval.

The Louisiana drywall program would be launched by the state “once a nationally recognized testing and remediation protocol is approved,” according to the recovery authority’s plan approved Wednesday. So, there’s no formal way to apply and no description on who is eligible

“There is no answer right now. There is no methodology,” LRA Executive Director Paul Rainwater told authority board members.

Part of the problem is that the LRA hasn’t yet figured out who qualifies for the program and how to verify if the applicant actually used the contaminated drywall. They are looking to the CPSC for standards and forms.

The monies will be coming from the federally funded Community Development Block Grants which was created after Hurricane Katrina for rebuilding Louisiana’s infrastructure. To use the Block Grants HUD would have to give their approval.

The Louisiana drywall program would be launched by the state “once a nationally recognized testing and remediation protocol is approved,” according to the recovery authority’s plan approved Wednesday. So, there’s no formal way to apply and no description on who is eligible

“There is no answer right now. There is no methodology,” LRA Executive Director Paul Rainwater told authority board members.